Where apps hide your files

Microsoft Teams cache paths on macOS

Updated 2026-10-28 · 7 min read

Which Teams you run decides where its cache is. Microsoft's own steps for clearing it are blunt, so this covers the paths, what is inside and a more careful way to free space.

The two locations

It depends on which Teams you run. The new Teams app, the current one, keeps its data in two folders:

~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2/
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams/

Classic Teams, which Microsoft has retired, used:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams/

All three paths come from Microsoft's own troubleshooting article, "Clear the Teams client cache", which lists the two container folders for new Teams and the single Application Support folder for classic Teams.

Inside the new Teams container, a university IT guide places the app's own data at Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MSTeams, with a Cache folder below it. Microsoft's article does not name that subfolder, so check that it exists on your Mac before relying on it.

Open it

In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) and paste the path, which also gets you past the hidden Library folder. In Terminal:

open ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2

The UBF8T346G9 part is Microsoft's team identifier. Office, OneDrive and other Microsoft apps each add their own UBF8T346G9.* folder to Group Containers, so pick out the Teams one by name:

ls ~/Library/Group\ Containers | grep -i teams

What clearing it does

Microsoft's article is specific about something people miss: clearing the Teams cache does not fix missing messages, chat history that will not load, a channel or team that does not appear, or wrong notifications and unread counts, and it deletes the diagnostic logs needed to find the cause. Microsoft calls it a targeted step for a small number of problems with the local client, not a general first step. After clearing, Teams starts more slowly while it rebuilds the cache.

Microsoft's steps, and a gentler version

For new Teams, Microsoft lists two Terminal commands that remove both folders above. Each uses rm -rf, which deletes immediately and permanently. The Group Containers command as printed leaves the space in Group Containers unescaped, so Terminal reads it as two separate paths and that folder is not removed. Either way, this is a full reset: you are signed out and local app data is gone.

A gentler route is to do it in Finder, where nothing is permanent until you empty the Trash:

1. Quit Teams: ⌘Q, or right-click its Dock icon and choose Quit.
2. Open ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2 with Go to Folder.
3. Move the folder to the Trash. For a lighter touch, move only the contents of the Cache folder inside the MSTeams folder described above, and skip the next step.
4. For the full reset, do the same with the UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams folder in Group Containers.
5. Start Teams and sign in again if asked.

For classic Teams, Microsoft's step is to remove the Teams folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft. Quit first, move that single folder to the Trash, and keep the other Microsoft folders.

What is lost and what is not

Messages and files shared in Teams live on Microsoft's servers, not in the cache. Deleting the cache will not delete your conversations. Files shared in channels are stored in SharePoint, and files shared in one to one chats are stored in OneDrive, so they are safe too. What you lose is local state: sign-in, settings, drafts and any logs.

Where your downloaded files go

Files you choose to download from Teams go wherever the save dialog points, typically Downloads. They are not part of the cache, and clearing the cache does not touch them.

How big does it get

The container grows with use. Measure it without opening files:

du -sh ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2
du -sh ~/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams

Microsoft documents no size limit. Given its warning above, size alone is not a reason to clear the cache, but the totals tell you how much space a reset would give back. A leftover classic Teams folder can be measured the same way, with du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Teams, before you decide whether to keep it.

New Teams versus classic

	New Teams	Classic Teams
Data	Containers/com.microsoft.teams2 and a Group Container	Application Support/Microsoft/Teams
Clear by	Removing both container folders (Microsoft)	Removing one folder
Status	Current	Retired by Microsoft

If both exist on one Mac, the old folder is left over from before you switched, and the new app does not use it. Remove the old folder only if you are sure you no longer run classic Teams.

Why search misses these

Spotlight ignores ~/Library and containers, and cache files have opaque names. You will not get at them from normal search, and Finder hides the Library folder unless you ask.

Checking what Teams left behind

Type teams into Everywhere and a leftover Application Support/Microsoft/Teams from classic Teams shows up with no extra permission; new Teams' com.microsoft.teams2 container and its group container join the list once you grant Everywhere Full Disk Access, the permission macOS demands for reading inside containers. Press ⌘↵ to reveal one in Finder before moving it to the Trash. Only names are searched, which is enough for folders like MSTeams and com.microsoft.teams2.

Common questions

Where is the Microsoft Teams cache on a Mac?

For new Teams, in ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2 and a Group Container named UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams. Classic Teams used ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams.

Does clearing the Teams cache delete my messages?

No, chats and files live on Microsoft's servers, SharePoint and OneDrive. You will be signed out and local settings are lost.

Should I clear the cache if messages are missing?

Microsoft advises against it for missing messages, chats not loading or wrong unread counts, because it will not fix them and removes diagnostic logs.

Why will Microsoft's rm command not work as printed?

The Group Containers path has a space in it, and Terminal needs it quoted or escaped. Using the Trash in Finder avoids the problem.